Reinterpreting History to Serve Islamophobia

Polskie Radio dla zagranicy has reported:

Krakow celebrates Battle of Vienna victory 14.09.2008

 

The ancient Polish capital of Krakow has celebrated the 325^th anniversary of the Victory at Vienna.

In 1683 king John III Sobieski and his legendary armored cavalry came to the rescue of the city besieged by Turkish forces of Kara Mustafa.

The victorious battle earned the Polish king the title of the Savior of Christianity from the onslaught of the Ottoman Empire.

To mark the glorious feat at Vienna, a re-enactment of the battle had been staged with the participation of 250 soldiers dressed in historic costume and 60 horses of the famed Polish cavalry of the time.

John III Sobieski's best calvary fighters were Polish-Lithuanian Tatar Muslims, who were made members of the aristocracy in good measure because of their fighting skills as horsemen.

Just as Muslims fought for Poland, Christians fought for the Ottoman Empire in this battle.

At the time, Poland was called propugnaculum Christianitatis (the bulwark or forward fist of Christendom) while the history texts I read called Sobieski the Savior of Vienna. Calling him the Savior of Christianity looks like an attempt to reinterpret history to conform to current Islamophobic politics.

 

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